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authorChristian Grothoff <christian@grothoff.org>2015-08-04 12:20:59 +0200
committerChristian Grothoff <christian@grothoff.org>2015-08-04 12:20:59 +0200
commit5ca0de7bf702c18d506c221e44c120ff3d6d7d16 (patch)
treed3d63ae9d217b64b176a1864dd3212c04a588585
parent98da7870862fc9818709aa7d7df2b6fcbd69a1e3 (diff)
downloadwww-5ca0de7bf702c18d506c221e44c120ff3d6d7d16.tar.gz
www-5ca0de7bf702c18d506c221e44c120ff3d6d7d16.zip
offering split-perspectives as suggested by wachs
Former-commit-id: d51349ef93a892ff6fb1c65cd5292c8e73fc0a62
-rw-r--r--citizens.html57
-rw-r--r--developers.html101
-rw-r--r--governments.html60
-rw-r--r--index.html100
-rw-r--r--investors.html46
-rw-r--r--merchants.html54
6 files changed, 315 insertions, 103 deletions
diff --git a/citizens.html b/citizens.html
index 74da1005..c3d3bd1b 100644
--- a/citizens.html
+++ b/citizens.html
@@ -137,7 +137,62 @@
137 valute nel tuo portafoglio digitale.</p> 137 valute nel tuo portafoglio digitale.</p>
138 </div> 138 </div>
139 </div> 139 </div>
140 140 <div class="col-lg-12">
141 <h2 lang="en" id="overview">Taler as seen by customers</h1>
142 <h2 lang="de">Taler aus Kundensicht</h1>
143 <h2 lang="fr" note="outdated"></h2>
144 <h2 lang="it" note="outdated"></h2>
145 <p lang="en">Customers interact with the Taler system mostly using
146 a free wallet implementation, which may be an extension or plugin
147 to their browser or a custom application on their computer(s).
148 Typical steps performed by customers are:
149 </p>
150 <p lang="de" note="outdated"></p>
151 <p lang="fr" note="outdated"></p>
152 <p lang="it" note="outdated"></p>
153 <p>
154 <img src="images/customer.svg" alt="customer perspective" style="float: right; margin: 50px 5px 5px 5px;" width="50%">
155 <ol>
156 <li lang="en">The customer selects a mint (i.e. by visiting the
157 respective website or selecting from a list of mints in the
158 application) and asks the wallet to create bank transfer
159 instructions to withdraw a certain amount of electronic cash.
160 The bank transfer instructions will contain an
161 access code that must be included in the subject of the
162 transaction, as well as the wire details for the mint (i.e.
163 a SEPA account number).</li>
164 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
165 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
166 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
167 <li lang="en">The customer then instructs his <b>bank</b> to
168 transfer funds from his account to the Taler mint using
169 these instructions provided by the wallet (top left).</li>
170 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
171 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
172 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
173 <li lang="en">Once the funds have arrived, the wallet will
174 automatically withdraw the electronic coins. The
175 customer can use the wallet to review his remaining balance
176 at any time. He can also make backups to secure his digital
177 coins against hardware failures.</li>
178 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
179 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
180 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
181 <li lang="en">When visiting a merchant that supports Taler,
182 a new payment option is available in the checkout system.
183 If the customer selects payments via Taler, the wallet
184 displays the secured contract from the merchant and asks
185 for confirmation. Taler does not require the customer
186 to provide any identity information to the merchant.
187 Transaction histories and digitally
188 signed contracts can be preserved in the wallet for future
189 review by the customer, or even use in court.</li>
190 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
191 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
192 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
193 </ol>
194 </p>
195 </div>
141 <!--# include file="common/footer.inc" --> 196 <!--# include file="common/footer.inc" -->
142 </div> <!-- /container --> 197 </div> <!-- /container -->
143 </body> 198 </body>
diff --git a/developers.html b/developers.html
index 840b5cda..618472f4 100644
--- a/developers.html
+++ b/developers.html
@@ -174,7 +174,106 @@
174 <a href="http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/taler">http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/taler</a>.</p> 174 <a href="http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/taler">http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/taler</a>.</p>
175 </div> 175 </div>
176 </div> 176 </div>
177 177 <div class="col-lg-12">
178 <h2 lang="en" id="overview">Taler system overview</h1>
179 <h2 lang="de">Das Taler-System im &Uuml;berblick</h1>
180 <h2 lang="fr" note="outdated"></h2>
181 <h2 lang="it" note="outdated"></h2>
182 <p lang="en">The Taler system consists of protocols and free software
183 implementations between a number of actors as illustrated in the
184 illustration on the right. Typical transactions involve the following steps:
185 </p>
186 <p lang="de" note="outdated"></p>
187 <p lang="fr" note="outdated"></p>
188 <p lang="it" note="outdated"></p>
189 <p>
190 <img src="images/system.svg" alt="system overview" style="float: right; margin: 50px 5px 5px 5px;" width="50%">
191 <ol>
192 <li lang="en">A customer instructs his <b>bank</b> to transfer funds
193 from his account to the Taler mint (top left). In the subject of
194 the transaction, he includes an authentication token from his
195 electronic <b>wallet</b>. In Taler terminology, the customer
196 creates a reserve at the mint.</li>
197 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
198 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
199 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
200 <li lang="en">Once the mint has received the transfer, it allows the
201 customer's electronic wallet to <b>withdraw</b> electronic coins.
202 The electronic coins are digital representations of the original
203 transfer. It is important to note that the mint does not learn
204 the "serial numbers" of the coins in this process, so it cannot
205 tell later which customer purchased what at which merchant.
206 The use of Taler does not change the currency or the
207 total value of the funds (except for fees which the mint may
208 charge for the service).</li>
209 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
210 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
211 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
212 <li lang="en">Once the customer has the digital coins in his wallet,
213 the wallet can be used to <b>spend</b> the coins with merchant
214 portals that support the Taler
215 payment system and accept the respective mint as a business
216 partner (bottom arrow). This creates a digital contract signed
217 by the customer's coins and the merchant. Assuming courts accept
218 cryptographic signatures, the customer can later use this digitally
219 signed contract in a court of law to prove the exact terms of
220 the contract and that he paid the respective amount. The customer
221 does not learn the banking details of the merchant, and Taler
222 does not require the merchant to learn the identity of the
223 customer. Naturally, the customer can spend any fraction of his
224 digital coins (the system takes care of customers getting
225 change).</li>
226 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
227 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
228 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
229 <li lang="en">Merchants receiving digital coins <b>deposits</b>
230 the respective receipts that resulted from the contract signing
231 with the customer at the mint to redeem the coins.
232 The deposit step does not reveal the learn the details of the
233 contract between the customer and the merchant or the identity
234 of the customer to the mint in any way. However, the mint
235 does learn the identity of the merchant via the provided bank
236 routing information. The merchant can, for example when
237 compelled by the state for taxation, provide information linking
238 the individual deposit to the respective contract signed by the
239 customer. Thus, the mint's database allows the state to enforce
240 that merchants pay applicable taxes (and do not engage in
241 illegal contracts).</li>
242 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
243 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
244 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
245 <li lang="en">Finally, the mint transfers funds corresponding to
246 the digital coins redeemed by the merchants to the merchant's
247 <b>bank</b> account. The mint may combine multiple small
248 transactions into one larger bank transfer.
249 The merchant can query the mint
250 about the relationship between the bank transfers and the
251 individual claims that were deposited.</li>
252 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
253 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
254 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
255 <li lang="en">Most importantly, the mint keeps cryptographic
256 proofs that allow it to demonstrate that it is operating
257 correctly to third parties. The system requires an external
258 <b>auditor</b>, such as a government-appointed financial regulatory
259 body, to frequently verify the mint's databases and check that
260 its bank balance matches the total value of the remaining coins
261 in circulation.</li>
262 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
263 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
264 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
265 <li lang="en">Without the auditor, the mint operators could
266 steal funds they are holding in reserve. Customers and merchants
267 cannot cheat each other or the mint. If any party's computers
268 are compromised, the financial damage is limited to the
269 respective party and proportional to the funds they
270 have in circulation during the period of the compromise.</li>
271 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
272 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
273 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
274 </ol>
275 </p>
276 </div>
178 <!--# include file="common/footer.inc" --> 277 <!--# include file="common/footer.inc" -->
179 </div> <!-- /container --> 278 </div> <!-- /container -->
180 </body> 279 </body>
diff --git a/governments.html b/governments.html
index 7255c1a0..ca365590 100644
--- a/governments.html
+++ b/governments.html
@@ -109,7 +109,65 @@
109 (in modo significativo) l'inquinamento.</p> 109 (in modo significativo) l'inquinamento.</p>
110 </div> 110 </div>
111 </div> 111 </div>
112 112 <div class="col-lg-12">
113 <h2 lang="en" id="overview">Taler as seen by governments</h1>
114 <h2 lang="de">Taler aus Regierungsperspektive</h1>
115 <h2 lang="fr" note="outdated"></h2>
116 <h2 lang="it" note="outdated"></h2>
117 <p lang="en">Governments can observe traditional wire
118 transfers entering and leaving the Taler system, and
119 require merchants and mint operators to provide certain
120 information during financial audits. Mint operators
121 are expected to be permanently checked by auditors,
122 while merchants may be required to reveal information
123 during regular tax audits.
124 Information available to the government includes:
125 </p>
126 <p lang="de" note="outdated"></p>
127 <p lang="fr" note="outdated"></p>
128 <p lang="it" note="outdated"></p>
129 <p>
130 <img src="images/government.svg" alt="government perspective" style="float: right; margin: 50px 5px 5px 5px;" width="50%">
131 <ul>
132 <li lang="en">From the banking system:
133 The total amount of digital currency
134 obtained by a customer. The government could impose
135 limits on how many digital coins a customer may
136 withdraw within a given timeframe.</li>
137 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
138 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
139 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
140 <li lang="en">From the banking system:
141 The total amount of income received
142 by any merchant via the Taler system.</li>
143 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
144 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
145 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
146 <li lang="en">From auditing the mint:
147 The amounts of digital coins legitimately withdrawn by
148 customers from mint, the value of non-redeemed digital coins
149 in customer's wallets, the value and corresponding wire details
150 of deposit operations performed by merchants with the mint, and
151 the income of the mint from transaction fees.</li>
152 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
153 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
154 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
155 <li lang="en">From auditing merchants:
156 For each deposit operation, the exact details of the
157 underlying contract that was signed between
158 customer and merchant. However, this information would
159 typically not include the identity of the customer.
160 Note that while the customer can decide to prove that it was his
161 transaction (i.e. in court when suing the merchant if the
162 merchant failed to deliver on the contract),
163 merchant, mint and government cannot find out the customer's
164 identity from the information that Taler collects.</li>
165 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
166 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
167 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
168 </ul>
169 </p>
170 </div>
113 <!--# include file="common/footer.inc" --> 171 <!--# include file="common/footer.inc" -->
114 </div> <!-- /container --> 172 </div> <!-- /container -->
115 </body> 173 </body>
diff --git a/index.html b/index.html
index 76852c00..d06e1f32 100644
--- a/index.html
+++ b/index.html
@@ -194,106 +194,6 @@
194 <p><a lang="it" class="btn btn-primary" href="/news" role="button" lang="it">Scopri di più &raquo;</a></p> 194 <p><a lang="it" class="btn btn-primary" href="/news" role="button" lang="it">Scopri di più &raquo;</a></p>
195 </div> 195 </div>
196 </div> 196 </div>
197 <div class="col-lg-12">
198 <h2 lang="en" id="overview">Taler system overview</h1>
199 <h2 lang="de">Das Taler-System im &Uuml;berblick</h1>
200 <h2 lang="fr" note="outdated"></h2>
201 <h2 lang="it" note="outdated"></h2>
202 <p lang="en">The Taler system consists of protocols and free software
203 implementations between a number of actors as illustrated in the
204 illustration on the right. Typical transactions involve the following steps:
205 </p>
206 <p lang="de" note="outdated"></p>
207 <p lang="fr" note="outdated"></p>
208 <p lang="it" note="outdated"></p>
209 <p>
210 <img src="images/system.svg" alt="system overview" style="float: right; margin: 50px 5px 5px 5px;" width="50%">
211 <ol>
212 <li lang="en">A customer instructs his <b>bank</b> to transfer funds
213 from his account to the Taler mint (top left). In the subject of
214 the transaction, he includes an authentication token from his
215 electronic <b>wallet</b>. In Taler terminology, the customer
216 creates a reserve at the mint.</li>
217 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
218 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
219 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
220 <li lang="en">Once the mint has received the transfer, it allows the
221 customer's electronic wallet to <b>withdraw</b> electronic coins.
222 The electronic coins are digital representations of the original
223 transfer. It is important to note that the mint does not learn
224 the "serial numbers" of the coins in this process, so it cannot
225 tell later which customer purchased what at which merchant.
226 The use of Taler does not change the currency or the
227 total value of the funds (except for fees which the mint may
228 charge for the service).</li>
229 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
230 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
231 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
232 <li lang="en">Once the customer has the digital coins in his wallet,
233 the wallet can be used to <b>spend</b> the coins with merchant
234 portals that support the Taler
235 payment system and accept the respective mint as a business
236 partner (bottom arrow). This creates a digital contract signed
237 by the customer's coins and the merchant. Assuming courts accept
238 cryptographic signatures, the customer can later use this digitally
239 signed contract in a court of law to prove the exact terms of
240 the contract and that he paid the respective amount. The customer
241 does not learn the banking details of the merchant, and Taler
242 does not require the merchant to learn the identity of the
243 customer. Naturally, the customer can spend any fraction of his
244 digital coins (the system takes care of customers getting
245 change).</li>
246 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
247 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
248 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
249 <li lang="en">Merchants receiving digital coins <b>deposits</b>
250 the respective receipts that resulted from the contract signing
251 with the customer at the mint to redeem the coins.
252 The deposit step does not reveal the learn the details of the
253 contract between the customer and the merchant or the identity
254 of the customer to the mint in any way. However, the mint
255 does learn the identity of the merchant via the provided bank
256 routing information. The merchant can, for example when
257 compelled by the state for taxation, provide information linking
258 the individual deposit to the respective contract signed by the
259 customer. Thus, the mint's database allows the state to enforce
260 that merchants pay applicable taxes (and do not engage in
261 illegal contracts).</li>
262 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
263 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
264 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
265 <li lang="en">Finally, the mint transfers funds corresponding to
266 the digital coins redeemed by the merchants to the merchant's
267 <b>bank</b> account. The mint may combine multiple small
268 transactions into one larger bank transfer.
269 The merchant can query the mint
270 about the relationship between the bank transfers and the
271 individual claims that were deposited.</li>
272 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
273 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
274 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
275 <li lang="en">Most importantly, the mint keeps cryptographic
276 proofs that allow it to demonstrate that it is operating
277 correctly to third parties. The system requires an external
278 <b>auditor</b>, such as a government-appointed financial regulatory
279 body, to frequently verify the mint's databases and check that
280 its bank balance matches the total value of the remaining coins
281 in circulation.</li>
282 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
283 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
284 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
285 <li lang="en">Without the auditor, the mint operators could
286 steal funds they are holding in reserve. Customers and merchants
287 cannot cheat each other or the mint. If any party's computers
288 are compromised, the financial damage is limited to the
289 respective party and proportional to the funds they
290 have in circulation during the period of the compromise.</li>
291 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
292 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
293 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
294 </ol>
295 </p>
296 </div>
297 <div class="col-lg-12"> 197 <div class="col-lg-12">
298 <h2 lang="en" id="taxability">Taler technology: About taxability, change and privacy</h1> 198 <h2 lang="en" id="taxability">Taler technology: About taxability, change and privacy</h1>
299 <h2 lang="de">Taler Technik: Steuern, Wechselgeld und Privatsph&auml;re</h1> 199 <h2 lang="de">Taler Technik: Steuern, Wechselgeld und Privatsph&auml;re</h1>
diff --git a/investors.html b/investors.html
index 19ea21b6..53242236 100644
--- a/investors.html
+++ b/investors.html
@@ -121,6 +121,52 @@
121 o entrambi) per facilitare le transazioni.</p> 121 o entrambi) per facilitare le transazioni.</p>
122 </div> 122 </div>
123 </div> 123 </div>
124 <div class="col-lg-12">
125 <h2 lang="en" id="overview">Taler as seen by the mint operator</h1>
126 <h2 lang="de">Taler aus Betreiberperspektive</h1>
127 <h2 lang="fr" note="outdated"></h2>
128 <h2 lang="it" note="outdated"></h2>
129 <p lang="en">The mint operator primarily operates a Web service
130 portal and keeps databases with transaction details and
131 cryptographic proofs. Its operational expenses are thus related to
132 its interactions with the banking system and the operation of
133 the computing infrastructure, while its income is based on
134 transaction fees it may charge for the various interactions.
135 Key interactions of the mint include:
136 </p>
137 <p lang="de" note="outdated"></p>
138 <p lang="fr" note="outdated"></p>
139 <p lang="it" note="outdated"></p>
140 <p>
141 <img src="images/mint.svg" alt="operator perspective" style="float: right; margin: 50px 5px 5px 5px;" width="50%">
142 <ol>
143 <li lang="en">Create a <b>reserve</b> based on an incoming
144 wire transfer from a customer.</li>
145 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
146 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
147 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
148 <li lang="en">Allow customers to withdraw (and refresh)
149 digital coins from their reserve.</li>
150 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
151 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
152 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
153 <li lang="en">Accept and validate deposits from merchants.</li>
154 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
155 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
156 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
157 <li lang="en">Execute wire transfers to merchants in
158 response to validated deposits.</li>
159 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
160 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
161 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
162 <li lang="en">Preserve and provide cryptographic proofs of
163 correct operation for audits by financial regulators.</li>
164 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
165 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
166 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
167 </ol>
168 </p>
169 </div>
124 <!--# include file="common/footer.inc" --> 170 <!--# include file="common/footer.inc" -->
125 </div> <!-- /container --> 171 </div> <!-- /container -->
126 </body> 172 </body>
diff --git a/merchants.html b/merchants.html
index 09eece94..4d4bd72b 100644
--- a/merchants.html
+++ b/merchants.html
@@ -222,6 +222,60 @@
222 fornendo standard aperti e implementazioni di riferimento in free-software.</p> 222 fornendo standard aperti e implementazioni di riferimento in free-software.</p>
223 </div> 223 </div>
224 </div> 224 </div>
225 <div class="col-lg-12">
226 <h2 lang="en" id="overview">Taler as seen by merchants</h1>
227 <h2 lang="de">Taler aus Gesch&auml;ftssicht</h1>
228 <h2 lang="fr" note="outdated"></h2>
229 <h2 lang="it" note="outdated"></h2>
230 <p lang="en">Merchants supporting the Taler system need to integrate
231 some relatively simple logic into their transaction processing
232 system.
233 Typical steps performed by the merchant system are:
234 </p>
235 <p lang="de" note="outdated"></p>
236 <p lang="fr" note="outdated"></p>
237 <p lang="it" note="outdated"></p>
238 <p>
239 <img src="images/merchant.svg" alt="merchant perspective" style="float: right; margin: 50px 5px 5px 5px;" width="50%">
240 <ol>
241 <li lang="en">The new logic detects when a customer's system
242 supports Taler and then needs to send a digitally signed
243 version of the proposed contract in a simple JSON format to
244 the customer.
245 The message also includes salted, hashed wire details for
246 the merchant, as well as restrictions as to which mint operators
247 the merchant is willing to deal with.</li>
248 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
249 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
250 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
251 <li lang="en">The customer sends a signed response which states
252 that certain digital coins now belong to the merchant to both
253 signal acceptance of the deal as well as to pay the respective
254 amount (bottom).</li>
255 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
256 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
257 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
258 <li lang="en">The merchant then forwards the signed messages
259 received from the customer to the mint, together with its
260 wire details and the salt (without hashing). The mint verifies
261 the details and sends a signed confirmation (or an error
262 message) to the merchant. The merchant checks that the
263 mint's signature is valid, sends a confirmation to the
264 customer and executes the contract-specific business logic.</li>
265 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
266 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
267 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
268 <li lang="en">The mint performs wire transfers corresponding to
269 the claims deposited by the merchant. Note that the mint may
270 charge fees for the deposit operation, hence merchants may
271 impose limits restricting the set of mint operators they are
272 willing to deal with.</li>
273 <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
274 <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
275 <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
276 </ol>
277 </p>
278 </div>
225 <!--# include file="common/footer.inc" --> 279 <!--# include file="common/footer.inc" -->
226 </div> <!-- /container --> 280 </div> <!-- /container -->
227 </body> 281 </body>